A FILM TO REMEMBER: “DIE HARD” (1988)

Before I get into this, I want to make mention “A FILM TO REMEMBER” will be a series about films that have reached a milestone anniversary since their origin in being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. The articles will contain the film’s plot outline, director, cast, a compilation of trivialities, various photos, movie trailer, critical reception and more. So, let’s start:

We are here to mark the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of John McTiernan’s “Die Hard”. Let’s take an inside look at the film:

PLOT OUTLINE:

An officer of the NYPD, tries to save his wife and several others that were taken hostage by a German terrorist during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

STUDIO:

20th Century Fox Pictures

DIRECTOR:

John McTiernan

CAST:

• Bruce Willis … John McClane
• Alan Rickman … Hans Gruber
• Alexander Godunov … Karl (Hans’s main henchman)
• Bonnie Bedelia … Holly Gennero-McClane
• Reginald VelJohnson … Sgt. Al Powell
• Paul Gleason … Deputy Chief of Police Dwayne T. Robinson
• De’voreaux White … Argyle
• William Atherton … Richard Thornburg
• Clarence Gilyard … Theo (Hans’s tech specialist)
• Hart Bochner … Harry Ellis
• James Shigeta … Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
• Bruno Doyon … Franco (Hans’s henchmen)
• Andreas Wisniewski … Tony (Hans’s henchmen)
• Joey Plewa … Alexander (Hans’s henchmen)
• Lorenzo Caccialanza … Marco (Hans’s henchmen)
• Gerard Bonn … Kristoff (Hans’s henchmen)
• Dennis Hayden … Eddie (Hans’s henchmen)
• Al Leong … Uli (Hans’s henchmen)
• Gary Roberts … Heinrich (Hans’s henchmen)
• Hans Buhringer … Fritz (Hans’s henchmen)
• and Wilhelm von Homburg … James (Hans’s henchmen)
• Robert Davi … FBI Special Agent Big Johnson
• Grand L. Bush … FBI Special Agent Little Johnson
• Tracy Reiner … Thornburg’s Assistant
• Taylor Fry … Lucy McClane
• Noah Land … John McClane, Jr.

GENRE(S):

Action | Thriller

TAGLINE:

40 Stories. 12 Terrorists. 1 Cop.

The film is known for being the very pinnacle of the ‘80s action film having become an action thriller Christmas classic which became the metonym for an action film in which a lone hero fights overwhelming odds. Director John McTiernan composes the action cleanly and logically, making good use of the elaborate post-modernist set-the building becomes something of a character in itself as its only bolstered even more by a strong performances from Bruce Willis, which made him a big-screen star, and Alan Rickman’s haughty arch-villain in an otherwise high tech, rock hard and souped up as an action film can be. The film is based from Roderick Thorp’s novel “Nothing Lasts Forever,” it was received with a mixed critical response initially but over time it has garnered acclaim for being the transcending landmark of it’s genre.

Here’s what some of the critical receptions have been for the film over the years:

Caryn James from New York Times says: “The scenes move with such relentless energy and smashing special-effects extravagance that ‘Die Hard’ turns out to be everything action-genre fans, and Bruce Willis’s relieved investors, might have hoped for.”

Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times says: “Inappropriate and wrongheaded interruptions reveal the fragile nature of the plot and prevent it from working.”

Jay Carr from Boston Globe says: “‘Die Hard’ is film’s equivalent of a terrorist attack on your senses, but Willis’ intensity and presence push it into guilty pleasure territory.”

Kevin Thomas from Los Angeles Times says: “As a grand flourish of cinematic technique, it is awesome; as a human drama, it is disgusting and silly, a mindless depiction of carnage on an epic scale.”

James Berardinelli from ReelViews says: “For what it is, this is the top model — flash, bang, and witty one-liners all included.”

As you can tell by the critical reactions, the film wasn’t entirely critically beloved by everyone with some negatively pointing to the fragile nature of the plotting and mindless deception but nonetheless with McTiernan’s slick execution and boasting with solid performances especially from Willis and Rickman, this enthralling game of cat-and-mouse, combining the interior tension with exterior explosions, complete with some preposterous situations, a lot of carnage, some male bonding, one strong woman, an array of one-liners and even a villain coming back from the dead for one last kiss goodnight is in many ways, the perfectly constructed action film that created an entire sub genre in becoming the highlighted benchmark of the definitive action thriller. But I’ll let you decide…

So, to get a better look at the film, here’s a link to the movie trailer of John McTiernan’s “Die Hard”:

Here I have provided 12 interesting and intriguing trivia facts (I wanted to keep it limited) about “Die Hard”:

• The Nakatomi tower is actually the headquarters of 20th Century Fox. The company charged itself rent for the use of the then-unfinished building.
• The film is based on Roderick Thorp’s 1979 novel “Nothing Lasts Forever,” the sequel to 1966’s “The Detective,” adapted into a 1968 film of the same name starring Frank Sinatra. Fox was contractually obligated to offer Sinatra the lead role in “Die Hard,” but he turned it down. Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered to shoot the film as a sequel to his 1985 action film “Commando,” but declined. Robert De Niro turned down the role as Fox reluctantly gave the role to Bruce Willis, then known as a comedic television actor. Willis had just been turned down to play the role of Charles Grodin opposite De Niro in “Midnight Run” (1988). Coincidentally, both films opened the same weekend.
• Bruce Willis received a then-unheard of five million dollars, a fee that was approved by Fox President Rupert Murdoch.
• The scene in which Gruber and McClane meet was inserted into the script after Alan Rickman (Hans Gruber) was found to be proficient at mimicking American accents. The filmmakers had been looking for a way to have the two characters meet prior to the climax and capitalized on Rickman’s talent. In addition, the scene where Willis and Rickman meet up was unrehearsed to create a greater feeling of spontaneity between the two actors.
• On Alan Rickman’s first day of shooting he filmed the scene where Hans Gruber first runs into John McClane. He made a jump off the ledge about three feet high. He injured his knee when he landed and damaged some cartilage in his knee. He was told by his doctor not to put any weight on that leg and he had to use crutches for a week. For the rest of the scene where Hans Gruber is standing and talking to John McClane, Alan Rickman is standing on one leg for the entire time and has a leg brace on under his pants.
• Much of the script was improvised due to the constant screenplay tweaks that were being made during filming.

• Alan Rickman nearly passed up the role of Hans Gruber, which ended up being his first film role. He had only arrived in Hollywood two days earlier and was appalled by the idea of his first role being the villain in an action film. To a degree, Rickman was right to be concerned considering his performance as Hans Gruber was so hailed that the actor had to struggle being typecast as a player of villains for much of his career.
• Debates have been had about whether or not “Die Hard” should be considered a Christmas film. Some feel that because the events of the film occur on Christmas Eve and it’s setting includes a Christmas party, that is enough to qualify it as a Christmas film, whilst others feel that since the film is not actually about Christmas and focuses on an action plot involving a lone police officer trying to stop terrorists it should not be considered a Christmas film.
• John McTiernan did not want the villains to be terrorists, considering them too mean. He chose to avoid the terrorists’ politics in favor of making them thieves in pursuit of monetary gain, believing it would make the film more suitable for summer entertainment.
• After seeing the movie “Heart Like a Wheel” (1983), Bruce Willis loved Bonnie Bedelia’s performance in that film, he personally recommended her to play his estranged wife.
• Clint Eastwood originally owned the rights to the novel “Nothing Lasts Forever” on which the film is based, and planned to star in the film around the early 1980s.
• When asked how he’s doing while repairing his bleeding feet, John McClane responds with “All things being equal, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” A famous quote of W.C. Fields misconstrued to be on his gravestone.

To conclude, John McTiernan’s “Die Hard” has its many imitators (and sequels) but those have never come close to matching the ingenious and ceaselessly self-renewing thrill ride that is sharp, tough and exciting in this edge-of-your-seat entertainment escapism. John McTiernan expertly directs in guiding with a full of well-constructed characters, lots of action and taut thrills assisted by a solidified cast with particularly strong performances from Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman in establishing a crucial template for the modern action film that breathed life and originality into an area of cinema where only formulas were proven reliable from this holiday defining, action-filled extravagance staple of populist filmmaking.

NOTE: The article contains sources from IMDb and Wikipedia.

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